What have you not been amused by the little Mercedes? Was surprised, laughed, and annoyed. It drove away Mercedes fans because everything was different with front-wheel drive. In its first generation, it was the symbol of a senior-friendly walking aid. Has let himself be knocked over by the elk and was later ashamed of all driving pleasure with an early-regulation ESP and, due to the lack of suspension travel, also the driving comfort. Generation two then had to do everything differently. Everything. That also brought the fans back on the barricades. This time, from Generation 1. Instead of being senior-friendly, it had to be hip, youthful and cool. Sporty, of course. And so the character of the A-Class changed.

World premiere Mercedes-Benz A-Class in Amsterdam

A comment from Habby

"Nothing more sought, found yourself."

The fact that Dieter shows himself in Hugo Boss sneakers, sports jacket and tie-free, even at the world premiere of one of the most important Mercedes models, has gotten used to it. You get used to the fact that world premieres in the automotive industry are celebrated with more and more PR fanfare. At least there was a limit, Amsterdam did not become “A-msterdam” - the marketing team from Swabia would have been trusted. When it comes to advertising, they're not that Swabian anymore. But the success proves them right. And there's one thing you have to leave the Swabian with the star in the radiator grille and heart: They can reflect and reinvent themselves. Without throwing history overboard. Only with the A-Class, since they have finally shaken off everything that made the first generation so special. And if you look into the vehicle, with the smallest, they even overtake the largest.

The S-Class from Renault

You have to pay respect to the Swabians for walking on the razor blade. While automobile journalists doubt their understanding when engines and transmissions for “Made in Germany” come from the cooperation with the French, turnover and increasing sales figures tell a completely different story. The customer doesn't seem to care. And at Mercedes-Benz they continue with the cooperation strategy. The new A-Class will only be equipped with engines from our own production for the top engines. The basic model not only had to swap the elaborate rear axle for a cheap torsion beam axle, the cubic capacity was also graced. In defiance of the WLTP demands, a 1.33 liter four-cylinder turbo gasoline engine has to get the base going. Mercedes calls it a 1.4 liter, which will probably not interest anyone in the end either. And the 7-speed dual clutch transmission also comes from the French. And yet everything is Mercedes. Sounds like a contradiction and should lead to a rebellion among Mercedes buyers. Actually. However, no trace of rebellion. With the A-Class, Mercedes is more successful in poaching in unfamiliar realms than with any other model. For many car buyers, the A-Class is the first Mercedes in their own lives. And the A-Class is well received by women. So, did everything right? Even though there is so much cooperation under the cover?

That sounds like Swabian

But the Mercedes engineers promise, without hiding their hands behind their backs, high and sacred, the new A-Class is also a Mercedes. The explanations for this sound logical. Imagine the following: An atomic physicist and a chimpanzee get a calculator and a complex equation with X unknowns. Both have the same roots, the DNA is 99,4% the same, both use the same tool and both are - after the Theorem of endless typing monkeys too come to a result. Only the one earlier. OK. That may be too harsh. But it should show what makes the difference. Where the development of automobiles does not depend on the knowledge itself, but on the goals that one sets oneself. And so, despite the same hardware, the genes of the Mercedes come out. Technicians talk about the adaptation. By pushing bits and bytes in the controllers. Of countless Kilometers that you drive before you are satisfied, But maybe the customer is so distracted by the technical novelties that the strategy of the common hardware does not strike him.

Distraction is guaranteed

More than any other new model on the market, the new A-Class steers the gaze from “hard skills” to “soft skills”. The A-Class even wants to be a smartphone on wheels. Not just a car anymore. No, a habitat for the young, urban, networked person. In order to show this to everyone, the A-Class can present itself with a reduced, tidy cockpit. In the center there are two huge displays (of course at an additional cost, but the base doesn't have any analog pointers either) and an armada of new functions. The new A-Class is the first Mercedes ever to have a touchscreen - but that becomes irrelevant, because Mercedes wants to be understood. And that's how the A-Class should understand. Understand what the driver is saying. With MBUX, a user interface moves into the smallest Mercedes that completely puts an end to the analog world. Look for buttons to adjust the seat heating. No need to just say “Hey Mercedes, turn on the heated seats” and your bum will be warmed up. This is just one of many commands that were integrated from the start. And “Hey Mercedes” learns. From the driver. From the user.

What "A Class"

You may find a lot in the design of the new A-Class, but few of them are “classic Mercedes elements”. But that only scares off those who want to stay in yesterday forever. For everyone else, Gordon Wagener's team has progressively further developed the design. Changes are important, whether they are silly fake exhaust tailpipes too? No matter. The inner values ​​of the new A-class and then you can not look at the hardware, but at the software. Mercedes-Benz is thus, more consistently than any other manufacturer, the path of digitalization. Hardware is interchangeable, it is the spirit of the softwarethat shapes the character. Not only in 20 years. Already in May 2018, when the A-Class comes on the market.

All photos of the event: Mercedes-Benz